Posted June 13, 2020 by NickJam
Hi Everyone,
I never wrote a devlog for the original posting of Duck Crossed the Road, so I figured this one could fill that purpose as well. I'm very excited to see what people think!
As for the day one patch, something I never thought I'd do for a game like this, the need for it was due to the fact that I had left in some potentially misleading dialogue. ***SPOILERS for non-plot-heavy game ahead***
<spoilers> Basically, when you beat the game once, it instructs you on how to get the True Ending. The original phrasing was "WITHOUT LETTING ANYONE DIE!" This was misleading because you are allowed to "let people die," but you cannot cause people to die. The original dialogue was written before I had actually made any levels in which Robber enemies automatically shoot other enemies. After the addition of those levels, the prospect of getting the True Ending seemed unreachable due to the dialogue. Changing it to "WITHOUT CAUSING ANYONE TO DIE!" allowed for a much more clear understanding at first glance. In case it is unclear, "causing" deaths includes shooting enemies with lasers, fireballs, or guns as well as allowing them to be hit by a car before you complete the level. The last one is a rare occurrence, and is mainly used to ensure timely completion of levels. It is actually a hangover from an earlier point in development where the timer kept going after levels were completed, which meant cars would hit stationary passengers. It seemed an unfair challenge, so I scrapped it. </spoilers>
tl;dr on the patch: I made a slight dialogue change to clear up something that didn't even have time to become an issue
I may post another devlog soon talking about changes I would make to the general formula of the game should I make a major update or sequel sometime down the line. If this was at all interesting to you, be on the lookout for that.
Seeya,
Nick